My Untranslatable Novel
Editorial by Vanina Marsot

PARIS: I grew up bilingual in Los Angeles: the world around me spoke English, but my French father and Egyptian mother spoke French to each other, and to understand what they were saying, I had to learn it. Comparing the sinuousness of French versus the steely directness of English, I grew up obsessed with the differences between the two languages, mulling over expressions that don't translate, reflecting on the way each language seems to express something missing in the other.
As I translate animated French TV series into English for a living, I get a lot of practice figuring out how teenage monsters, talking panda bears, and transforming super heroes should sound. But what interests me is more complex than the admittedly fun task of translating prepubescent witticisms, so I wrote my first novel, Foreign Tongue, about it.

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What are the Biggest Obstacles to Translation?
By Edward Nawotka

Translation is tricky, particularly with books that are written in a distinct dialect. I've been told one of the joys of reading Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano novels is the Sicilian dialect the books are written in. Likewise, there's a particular pleasure to be had in reading a writer who can nail a regional accent -- be it from Louisiana, Brooklyn or Marseilles. Of course, the more authentic the dialect, the more difficult it is to render in an altogether foreign language.

(read on ...)